Monday, December 29, 2008

Letters...

Diving into the world of Tonya's pieced letters has been on my back burner for a long time. This fall, with some other projects out of the way, it was finally time to give free-pieced letters a try.As part of a challenge, Tonya sent me four pieced sets of the word LOVE and the race was on--incorporate her words into a project of my own.

Not being one for the flowery or the schmoopy, it took me a while to figure out how to use four sets of the word LOVE in a way that would be neither.

Earlier in the fall I saw this (you have to scroll down a bit) showing a typography exhibit. Typography is a big interest of mine--love the look of words in print. One of the works in the exhibit was "four letter words"--obscure ones, may of which required a dictionary. That got me thinking... Of course the expression "four-letter words" generally connotes obscene or, at the very least, negative words. I decided to do a quilt of four letter words that were all positive.

And it seemed that this was the perfect vehicle to use some of the wordy fabrics I've been collecting.

So the letters are all solid brights and the background is a cacophony of words, numbers, and other writing.

I pieced each word using one color, and Tonya's LOVE letters are in multicolors, so they stand out a bit.

Yes, they ARE wonky, but I like them that way. This was a great learning experience. Can't say I'm totally at ease with piecing letters yet, but I'm getting better at it.

The object was to have a completed top by years end, but I just ran out of time. The central part of the quilt is done, but there will be a border or two. I need to let it sit and to think a bit about the borders. There are several ideas floating around in my head.

::: ::: :::

Tuesday morning Mr. Kathie and I are jetting out to Washington, D.C. for a quick several-day visit with our firstborn. It promises to be a culinary visit, as our daughter has been commissioned to make a tarte tatin as a Christmas gift for her boss, to be hand-delivered to the boss's house. I haven't ever made a tarte tatin and neither has my daughter, so it will be an adventure for us both.

Never knew that expertise with French food was part of the job description for a law clerk, but then what do I know?

I loved that inspiration post - that would be such a great exhibit to see. Wheeee I love this quilt - you did such a great job. My loves are so dark and drab compared to your fun words. I love how you did the backgrounds. Woohoo!!!!!

You're schmoopy. No, you're schmoopy. hee hee hee.

Enjoy the Tarte Tatin making. I finally ate my first TT here. Was okay, but there are other desserts I like much more.

I love your quilt! It's fun and wonky and not schmoopy at all. And I think that the "writing" fabrics are just perfect for this one. Great job!

I too am a typography/word nut. I'm sure there's a perfect font for any situation or word. I only have about 700 fonts on my computer! (geek!) But I love words and all things related. And I know I passed that on to at least one child. These things are best shared, yes?

Great quilt!!! It's both fun and clever playing with words and letters on two different layers. I really love the mix of black and white with the colored letters. This is a great design- love it!!! ; ) Wish you a creative and happy new year...

About

When I was a child, I processed everything I did and everything that happened to me by drawing about it on any surface available. When I was about 12, I discovered the world of textile arts and knew I had found my most excellently authentic means of self-expression. I now process my life through my needlework, mainly quilting and knitting. I'm one of the lucky people: I'll never be bored and I'll never run out of ideas.